Fisheries sector experts from four countries surrounding Lake Tanganyika are meeting in Dar es Salaam for three days to agree on the best ways to safeguard reproduction areas for sardines, sprats and perches in the lake. The experts from Tanzania, Burundi, DRC and Zambia will discuss how to facilitate execution of an in-depth fish stock assessment in Lake Tanganyika to draw up regulatory requirements for sustainable fishing. The countries seek to implement the global fish value chain development programme-‘Fish4ACP’ mooted by the FAO working with the EU, traditional partners for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Germany’s Economic Cooperation and Development ministry (BMZ) is adding to EU resources in the project. Opening the three-day workshop yesterday, Prof Riziki Shemdoe, the Livestock and Fisheries permanent secretary, said that the assessment is going to boost Tanzania’s industrialization drive in the fishing sector and uplift the blue economy. Steven Ciocca, the FAO Fish4ACP project representative, said the assessment will furnish accurate data on the status of fish in Lake Tanganyika, to enhance sustainable growth and development of fisheries in the region. Tanzania is Lake Tanganyika’s principal producer of sardine, sprat and perch, accounting for up to 85% of annual catches in the lake.
Source: IPP Media
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